Lagoon Reef Build

[SamB]

Nice bridgework Buddy !
I can see what you mean about the high tide / low tide thing ...

 

[David Caplan]

Thanks Sam!

Think this is my first time taking a decent full-tank shot. Starting to shape up, but still lots to do.

 

[David Caplan]

Cleaned out the 20 gallon, dipped and scrubbed everything a second time, and started placing the corals. I also replaced the refugium with a coral propagation area. Going to need to re-take the tank shot at night-time.

 

[BigReefer]

Looking good mon ...

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[TORX]

This is absolutely a up and coming tank. Great planning and design.

I am just wondering why there is no valve on the drain of the skimmer cup. As is, the skimmer juice would just be dripping back into the tank, or am I missing something.

 

[David Caplan]

Thanks! It is siliconed and superglued shut. I just emptied it. Wonderful skimmer, but not sure why the drain is there...

 

[TORX]

Thanks! It is siliconed and superglued shut. I just emptied it. Wonderful skimmer, but not sure why the drain is there...

Nice. I put a small ball valve from a tlf reactor on the hose of mine. Really handy for a quick drain. I have to drain it twice a week. Clean it every other.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[David Caplan]

I need to get some of those tlf ball valves for my drain/return line, they seem really handy.

Tank's been running very smoothly. A month ago Colin @ Reef Boutique gave me a juvenile (4 inch) two-spot coris wrasse that had some bad damage on his fins and needed somewhere to recover. Hopefully it will be well healed by the time it outgrows my tank and I bring it back. It is a fiend for worms/stars/inverts. I keep seeing it picking very hard at the few snails I have in there, I am guessing it has killed the few I've found dead. I might need to make the move towards an all-fish cleanup crew. It is incredible that I can throw a frag from my frag tank into the display and it come out sparkling clean in a under a minute. The tangs wipe out all the algae before it even hits the substrate, and the wrasse takes care of all the nano-inverts.

I decided to drill my frag tank myself and connect it to the system. I have never even planned a tank's plumbing before, let alone drill it so its been an adventure. I decided to do it with flexible tubing and hose clamps so that it is removable, but I have yet to find appropriate caps for the bulkheads. So far so good, I just have to figure out 2 things. A) How am I going to position the return? Can I use the hole that was pre-drilled into the overflow somehow without too many elbows, or do I need to seal it? B) Back-syphon prevention for the return line. I think I will install a flat return nozzle vertically, so that there is always an air pocket to break the syphon. Either that or I need to find a barb x barb gate valve.






A couple shots from the last week. Thanks Alex @ FragCave for the awesome mushrooms, and Colin @ Reef Boutique for the crazy Plate Coral and the help with the frag tank plumbing.








True Sunset Millie from March @ Fragbox

 

[heath]

This is absolutely a up and coming tank. Great planning and design.

I am just wondering why there is no valve on the drain of the skimmer cup. As is, the skimmer juice would just be dripping back into the tank, or am I missing something.

good eye Torx...

 

[jroovers]

Looks like you are well on your way! On the return line, the less elbows, barbed fittings and threaded connections the better to prevent drips and salt creep. I've always preferred to use PVC glue and true unions to allow for tear down or maintenance, which helps with that. Depends on how much pressure you're pumping through there though. I'm a poor plumber at best however so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

[zoomster]

Thanks! It is siliconed and superglued shut. I just emptied it. Wonderful skimmer, but not sure why the drain is there...

Hey Dave, if it is what i think it is on the skimmer, that drain on the bottom is so you can run it to a "collection" bucket. that way you don't have to empty it like every day.

 

[zoomster]

that is a great looking set up! you have done a very nice job!

 

[David Caplan]

Thanks!

Hey Dave, if it is what i think it is on the skimmer, that drain on the bottom is so you can run it to a "collection" bucket. that way you don't have to empty it like every day.

Thanks! I like it glued shut, I only empty it once a week at max.

 

[zoomster]

Ya, once a week is no big deal. i run mine outside of my sump into a pail because i am away from home a lot so it is one less thing I have to worry about.
Again, sweet set-up!

 

[David Caplan]

Well it looks like I don't need any valves. The plumbing is dead silent, and I used loc-line to put the return above the water line, and plugged the hole in the acrylic. So happy to have everything together like this.

 

[Strobe]

nice looking setup, you put my work ethic to shame lol

 

[Nonuser]

Let me know when you want to sell it.

I call dibs

 

[David Caplan]

Haha thanks guys. It's been a ton of fun and very educational. I will be sure to keep you in mind when I upsize, although not while living in an apartment .

Tried again for the full tank shot. Not my forte.




My clam from Alex, a very bright mushroom from R20 and some shots from the frag tank.

 

[David Caplan]

Ya, once a week is no big deal. i run mine outside of my sump into a pail because i am away from home a lot so it is one less thing I have to worry about.
Again, sweet set-up!

As I did my weekly skimmer clean yesterday I was wondering how this worked? If I was to empty the liquid from my skimmer and not actually clean it, I wouldn't be getting any of the densest skim mate out. Maybe it's my OCD, but my skimmer collection cup is soaked in hydrogen peroxide and cleaning vinegar for an hour before it is scrubbed see-through then returned to the tank.

The way I understand the skimmer to work is that it will create bubbles and push the nasty stuff up towards the cup, but by that same token, the moving returning water from burst bubbles could easily drag down pieces of skim mate. Also, does this not cause an odor around the sump/tank?


Also, for anyone else using filter socks I found a tip that saved me a ton of time. Soak in a solution of hydrogen peroxide, bleach and hot water. The peroxide is the only effective method for disintegrating the nano-particulate caught in the sock, the bleach only sterilizes it and whitens it. My filter socks that would last 1-2 days after a cleaning now last 4.

 

[zoomster]

You dont have to clean the cup every time but you should cl
ean the inside of the neck going up.
So i just clean the whole cup each time myself. its a good husbandry practice anyway! .
And yep, the skimmate will smell.